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    RDI Fund Capital Raise

    RDI Fund capital raise advisory is the finance work behind an application to an RDIF fund manager: qualifying, raising the matching half, and preparing what its investment committee will test.

    Without committed matching capital, a strong technology still stalls. (read where we wrote it)

    Mainly for

    50%The usual ceiling on RDIF money in a project or round

    Which four tests will every RDIF fund manager apply?

    RDIF finances commercialisation, not research. Before a manager looks at the round, it checks four things.

    1. TRL 4 or above

      At least a laboratory-level prototype. RDIF asks for no certificate, but managers can judge it against the national NTRAF framework.

    2. R&D-intensive

      Real uncertainty in how the technology works, is adopted, is produced or meets standards. Routine R&D and low-end technology are excluded.

    3. A priority sector

      Energy and climate, deep tech, artificial intelligence and its uses, life sciences, the digital economy, or technologies vital to strategic and economic security.

    4. Indian control and headquarters

      Controlled by resident Indian citizens, with the global headquarters registered in India. A flipped structure with a foreign parent fails.

    How do we take an RDIF raise from first call to funded?

    The match comes first. In a ₹40 crore project, for illustration, RDIF money can cover up to ₹20 crore, and the other ₹20 crore has to be raised privately.

    1. Diagnose

      Your TRL against the national NTRAF framework, sector fit, and ownership and domicile checks. Then an honest go or not-yet call, with a gap list and an owner for each gap.

    2. Structure

      The capital stack, a project budget tied to milestones, and a financial model that shows how concessional debt is serviced after the moratorium, or converts.

    3. Raise the match

      The private half, from investors, strategic partners or commercial lenders, with term sheets in hand before a fund manager is approached.

    4. Apply and close

      TDB, BIRAC or the cohort funds whose thesis fits, the proposal and the pitch, a data room ready for diligence, then the reporting that releases each tranche.

    Read our founder's guides to the RDI Fund

    What do founders ask about the RDI Fund?

    Can startups get money from the RDI Fund?

    Yes, if the technology is at TRL 4 or above, R&D-intensive and in a priority sector. The company must be controlled by resident Indian citizens and headquartered in India. The money comes through a fund manager, never from RDIF directly.

    Which VCs in India have RDIF money?

    As of October 2026, 14 alternative investment funds and 5 Focused Research Organisations were approved as RDIF fund managers, beside TDB and BIRAC. Each of the 19 deploys only after signing its agreement with RDIF.

    Is RDI Fund investment a loan or equity?

    Either, or a mix. RDIF reaches companies as long-term loans, convertible debt or equity, always through a fund manager. It gives no grants, and no scheme-wide interest rate is published.

    How long does RDI Fund disbursement take?

    Each manager sets its own timeline, and RDIF sets no deadline for its decision. Press reports say some selected companies then waited on letters of intent. Plan a runway that does not depend on a fixed RDIF date.

    We have a US parent company. Do we qualify?

    Not as structured. The company must be controlled by resident Indian citizens and have its global headquarters registered in India, so a flipped structure fails. We can assess what restructuring would involve.

    Is SRF an RDIF fund manager?

    No. SRF is an independent advisory firm. We make no investment decisions for RDIF or any fund; we prepare companies for the managers who do.